Why David Cameron Should Remain Prime Minister, Even If We Vote For Brexit

02/06/2016 15:45 BST
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Updated
01/06/2017 10:12 BST

To say that both Labour and the Tories are currently experiencing infighting is an understatement. It's probably currently less pleasant to be in either party than to sit at your grandmother's kitchen table when your atheist cousin and your deeply Catholic grandfather are taking lumps out of each other over the Sunday roast.

Whether we choose to Remain or Leave after June 23rd-and God knows, I'm counting the days-there's a good chance the ramifications could last, rippling out and slicing down Tory MP after Tory MP in a manner that would make Julius Caesar look positively perky. But let's cut to the chase here-David Cameron should not resign.

This weekend, my TV screen was emblazoned with Dorries whining that she'd already filled in her letter of no confidence, Bridgen insisting Cameron was "finished" as leader-whilst my mind was echoing with whether or not I'd ever heard quite such an amount of self-righteous whining. For a moment, I was sure I had made a dreadful error and was listening to Corbyn's carping on about shoot-to-kill. (The snidely sinister remark by one Tory MP bold enough to remain anonymous in this weekend's Times, referring to "catching him with a live boy or a dead girl" is quite simply, utterly disgusting.)

There is no reason for Cameron to go anywhere, based off a referendum. He said he would hold the referendum. He said he would back the Remain side in the referendum. He said he would abide by the result of the referendum. And he said people could vote however they want in-anybody?-the referendum. It's not as if this should have come as a shock.

Whatever the result, there will be a need for a period of stability after the tumult of the campaigns. The hassle of this little group of complainers bathing in their own sanctimony, pushing in their letters of no confidence, shoving Cameron's suitcases in his hands and bundling him out the door, and then racing to scribble down a name of their choice (preferably, for many, someone blond-haired and fluent in Latin) is something that neither the Conservative party, nor the country needs.

It is essential that the Conservatives establish a period of stability. Let's be blunt-right now, they're the only feasible option. Labour are still trying to decide whether they have an anti-semitism problem or not, and the Lib Dems have eight MPs. The idea of Corbyn in Downing Street is-fortunately-roughly the same probability as him being reincarnated as an olive, to borrow a phrase from the former Mayor of London. A united, stable party with Cameron at the helm is what we need-a view supported by many darlings of the Leave Campaign, including Jacob Rees-Mogg, Leader of the House Chris Grayling, eternally put-upon Michael Gove and everyone's favourite blond-haired master of etymology, Boris Johnson.

Dorries attempted to claim that the Prime Minister had lost the trust of the Conservative Party through dishonesty. The figures the Prime Minister has put forward through his participation in the Remain Campaign have always been supported by evidence from independent financial bodies-some of which have criticised his Chancellor's budgets in the past. If Dorries et al are so concerned about dishonesty, they should examine the unfortunate revelation that some members of the Leave Campaign have actively refused to deliver their leaflets concerning the NHS-because of the sheer inaccuracy of the deliberately misleading figures enclosed.

Whether the UK votes to remain in or leave the EU, the country will require strong leadership in the weeks and months following the referendum. If Dorries, Bridgen and the rest of their ilk see this as an opportunity to oust their leader-who, it should not be forgotten, is responsible for their party's election victory-then that shall serve as proof-unavoidable, undeniable proof-that their concern is not their party's electability, not their party's ability to serve this country, but instead, a simple desire to drag the Conservative Party back several decades, and a willingness to sacrifice the health of the party and the country for their own little tantrum of righteousness. That, my friends, is selfish, impractical and an example of pragmatism and electability being wilfully sacrificed for the simple sanctimonious pleasure of being able to pat oneself smugly on the back. In fact-it may be the opposite end of the political spectrum but it bears an astonishing similarity to Corbynism.

The best thing for the country, in the aftermath of the referendum result, would be for the Tories to unite and show some true leadership-with someone who has proved he can lead at the helm. If a certain group of Conservatives choose to discount this in favour of pushing forward their own little agenda, then it is they, and not David Cameron, who will have proved themselves untrustworthy in this referendum.